ANNAPOLIS, Md.– Prior to the Icers game against Navy, we stopped in downtown Annapolis for a quick bite to eat. An traffic jam on the Beltway limited the amount of time we could budget for dinner, so we stopped at Chick & Ruth’s Delly on Main Street. Our arrival coincided with the end of regulation of the Navy vs. Notre Dame football game.

Navy went into South Bend having not beaten the Fighting Irish since 1963, coming agonizingly close several times. It seems like every time I would turn on the Navy vs. Notre Dame game, Navy would have a shot in the last few seconds. This time was no different. Navy scored a touchdown and extra point in the first overtime with Notre Dame responding accordingly. Several tables away, a midshipman announced he would do push-ups if Navy could pull it out. The second overtime saw the two gold helmeted teams trade field goals. In the third overtime, Navy threw for a touchdown on the first play and converted two points on another pass. On Notre Dame’s 3rd OT possession, a fourth down pass was batted away, seemingly bringing victory to Navy, but a pass interference penalty (I suggested the ref hates America) nullified it and gave Notre Dame another shot. They ran it on fourth down and Navy stuffed them, ending the streak. There were a few hoots, some clapping, but overall the reaction was nothing more than what you would see after a regular season baseball win. The streets of Annapolis had no buzz either. I can’t decide if I was disappointed or admired the restraint.

Although Chick & Ruth’s wasn’t what we had in mind when we planned our trip to Annapolis, we found it to be a pleasant enough diner, although I know someone who would take issue with the spelling of the proprietors’ name. Clearly, there is a lot of history at Chick & Ruth’s, but we were admittedly distracted from it by the game. Erica enjoyed her crabcake sandwich. Since we were in a hurry, I ordered a burger which was fine. Perhaps sometime when we spend a whole day in Annapolis (which we have been meaning to do for a long time) we’ll have a more leisurely lunch there.

The midshipman didn’t do his push-ups though.